I
The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 12, 1994 - 5
Code jurors, randomly selected, learn how to try students
By MICHELLE LEE THOMPSON
Daily Staff Reporter
In a now annual rite of fall, the
University spent Saturday training a
new class of anonymous students to
serve as the interpreters of the State-
ment of Student Rights and Responsi-
ities, the University's code of non-
academic student conduct.
As explained to II randomly se-
lected students who will serve asjudi-
cial board members, the code con-
tains different provisions for the treat-
ment of hearsay, double jeopardy,
property rights and due process than
in 4 court of law.
Witnesses are not required to take
s oath to testify. Instead of "beyond
easonable doubt," judicial board
members must only reach a "clear
and convincing standard" to deter-
mine responsibility.
"You can have a nagging doubt"
and still find someone guilty, said
Elsa Cole, general counsel for the
University, as she explained the code
procedures for student hearings to
student panelists Saturday morning at
Union.
Judicial Advisor Mary Lou
Antieau asserted that the purpose of
the code proceedings was not to re-
place a civil or criminal trial.
"Our primary goal is if you find
someone has violated the policy, what
kind of sanctions can you assign,"
Antieau asserted.
Antieau opened the training ses-
sion by telling the judicial board mem-
bers how they had been chosen. The
registrar's office randomly generated
a list of students needed to fill the 50-
member board and submitted it to
Antieau. Twenty-two students were
selected this year to fill vacancies
from last year's board.
The code stipulates that an equal
humber of male and female students
should serve on the board, as well as
an equal number of graduate and un-
dergraduate students.
The board members are not
screened for racial balance.
"It's turned out that the panel of50
has been representative of the student
body. The first couple years we were
very surprised," Antieau said, noting
that the original drafters did not deem
it necessary to try to racially balance
the pool since it is randomly chosen.
Of the 11 students present Saturday,
ten were white, one was Black.
Once the list was generated, po-
tential jurors received a letter notify-
ing them that they had been selected.
The letter explained that they were to
report for the training session, but did
not give students the option of not
serving on the board. But the policy
provides for the judicial advisor to
excuse students if serving on the board
"could cause undue hardship."
Vince Keenan, chair of the Stu-
dent Rights Commission ofthe Michi-
JONATHAN BERNDT/Daily
gan Student Assembly, said he feels
that students do not have a choice --
once they are selected, they are ex-
pected to serve. "No one told them
they could decline," he said. "They
shouldn't just be drafted. This (ser-
vice) is such a hassle."
Keenan asserted that no student
has ever turned down a request to
serve on the panel.
Panelists were given detailed in-
formation on how to run the hearings
and specific instructions asking panel
members to maintain confidentiality
in reviewing cases.
Both Cole and Antieau maintained
that the panelists' identities would be
kept confidential to protect them. If a
panelist discusses a case outside the
hearing room, they could be sued for
breaching confidentiality, Cole as-
serted.
Cole said the University would
only represent panelists if their be-
havior was in "good faith."
"My rule of thumb on talking to
the media is don't," Cole said.
Jurors were joined by thirty mem-
bers of the residence hall judicial
board, which hears cases involving
incidents in residence halls. The resi-
dence hall judicial board members
were appointed at the end of last year.
Darlene Ray-Johnson, judicial
adviser for the residence halls, ex-
plained to the panelists that this is the
first student hearing panel for the resi-
dence halls.
"We have no idea of knowing how
the hearings will go," Johnson said.
om
NIA1&C "N"D\ :tR SON V E NTI1O "04 4
Fems pM
hopes on
high voter
mout
FLINT (AP) - T-shirts on sale at
the Michigan Democratic convention
this weekend summed up a key party
goal this fall.
"Friendsdon't let friends vote
Republican," said the shirt.
And, party leaders might add,
friends don't let friends stay home on
Election Day.
"This election is 80 percent about
snout and 20 percent about persua-
sion," said Ken Brock, campaign
manager for Democratic gubernato-
rial hopeful Howard Wolpe.
Brock said party leaders believe
there are more than enough voters
willing to remove Republican Gov.
John Engler from office.
"Our challenge is to mobilize these
ople," he said yesterday.
One organizing tool being pushed
at the convention recruits volunteers
to turn out the Democratic voters in
their own neighborhoods.
"They're out there. On your block.
More than 300,000 people who vote
Democratic - when they bother to
vote," said a pamphlet seeking volun-
teers to help get people to the polls.
Democrats blame failure to get
se people out in recent years for
incumbent Democrat James
Blanchard's 17,000-vote loss to
Engler and the loss of five seats in the
Michigan House by a total of 676
votes.
Wolpe sounded a similar theme
when he visited district caucuses.
"Remember that four years ago,
John Engler did not win that election.
e lost it - by a margin of three
es a precinct," he said.
"When people say one vote doesn't
count, you remind them of that."
Wolpe urged convention delegates
to knock on doors and make phone
calls even in local races that seem safe
or hopeless, since those votes can
help Democrats up and down the
ticket.
"We don't need to win every pre-
ct. We just need to have every
single, doggone Democrat to get out
and vote," said Debbie Stabenow,
Wolpe's running mate.
Wolpe and Stabenow didn't have
to convince Eric Jackson of Macomb
HAZING
Continued from page I
was forced to drink one of several
glasses in front of him, some contain-
ing waterand others containing vodka.
Later that day, the pledge returned
to his apartment and was feeling ill.
His pledge brother dialed 911, and the
student was then taken to the hospital
for treatment.
After spending a night at the hos-
pital, he was released Monday and
has recovered fully.
The president of the Michigan
Alpha Alumni Board of Sig Eps has
been involved in an investigation into
the incident. All persons present dur-
ing the occurrence were interviewed
last week, and the rest of the chapter
members will be interviewed before
the investigation is completed,
Vauclain said.
The charter of Sig Eps has been
suspended, and the results of the in-
vestigation will determine whether
further measures will be taken to en-
sure that such an incident does not
occur again.
The investigation is expected to
reveal how involved certain members
of the chapter were in the incident,
and who was responsible.
The University Sig Eps president,
LSA junior Scott Sandler, denounced
the act. "Obviously, the national fra-
ternity and the chapter are vehemently
against hazing," he said.
"Unfortunately, I cannot be re-
sponsible for the actions of every one
of our members, 24 hours a day."
Suspension of Sig Eps' charter
means the members cannot hold any
events or participate in any activities
without permission from Vauclain.
The extent of restriction of such ac-
tivities will be determined when the
investigation is complete, Vauclain
added.
Also, once the investigation has
been completed by Sig Eps headquar-
ters, University Fraternity Coordina-
tor Terry Landes will become involved
in a cooperative effort to properly
sanction the chapter. The investiga-
tion is expected to be completed by
the end of the week.
Such sanctions possibly will in-
clude creating an educational pro-
gram for the fraternity members on
hazing, removing members from the
chapter and punishing those individu-
als involved, Vauclain said, adding
that similar sanctions have been suc-
cessful with other chapters of Sig Eps
involved in hazing incidents.
However, "I'm not sure that I per-
sonally can ensure that this will never
happen again," Vauclain said.
Landes said his office is holding
off on implementing sanctions until
the investigation by Sigma Phi Epsi-
lon Fraternity Headquarters is com-
plete. Once that is done, Landes said
he will determine "what we can do in
conjunction to assure this never hap-
pens again."
Landes, Vauclain and Sanders all
declined to release the names of those
directly involved in the incident.
Landes added that "hazing is not
an accepted practice. ... If we have
any opportunity to change it, we will."
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Howard Wolpe reamed Gov. Engler on
crime and education during his acceptance speech during the party's
convention yesterday in Flint.
Wolpe talks tough
to state convention
FLINT (AP) - Democrat
Howard Wolpe promised more than
tough talk against crime yesterday
with a speech to the Michigan Demo-
cratic convention that tried to put in-
cumbent Republican Gov. John
Engler on the defensive.
Wolpe said he would put more
police on the streets, set up special
drug courts to deal with nonviolent
drug addicts and make sure criminals
stay behind bars.
"We absolutely have to lock up
violent offenders, and keep them there,
behind bars strong enough to hold
them for as long as their judge and
jury decide they should be there," he
said.
Wolpe needled Engler over the
breakout by 10 criminals from the
Ryan Regional Correctional Facility
in Detroit.
He blamed Engler for putting dan-
gerous criminals in a facility with too
little security, too few staff and little
training.
Wolpe said Engler had tried to
blame the warden, guards and ajudge
for the escape.
He promised to send Engler a sign
reading "The buck stops here" to re-
mind the governor who was to blame.
Before Wolpe spoke, two people
dressed as jailbirds paraded through
the convention crowd carrying a sign
that read, "Jailbreak John Engler -
Tough enough to blame the guards."
WlnA vuhn 1.., f..,n affn 1at.. all-,
Regents Run Again
The other candidates who were
elected during the Democratic
Party's state convention this
weekend in; Flint:
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
BOA RD OFREGENTS
i=Paul Brown, Mackinac Island.
i-Jim Waters, Muskegon,
ATTORNEY GENERAL
i-Frank Kelley, Okemos.
SECRETARY OF STATE
i-Richard Austin, Detroit,
SUPREME COURT
i-Conrad Mallett, Detroit
Donald Shelton, Saline.
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
i-Gumecindo Salas, East
Lansing.
carol C. Thomas, Southfield.
* [ denotes incumbant
capon school administrative expenses
so more money goes to classrooms
and reopen the Michigan Education
Trust to let parents save for their
children's college educations.
Without being specific, Wolpe
called for a top-to-bottom reform of
Michigan schools to ensure children
are prepared for the 21st Century.
For businesses, Wolpe suggested
tax incentives for businesses that cre-
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